Seen as one of the most challenging moves of the mission, the Vikram lander, and Pragyan rover will separate out of the orbiter between 12:45 and 1:45 pm on September 2.

ISRO on Sunday said it has successfully performed the fifth and final lunar bound orbit manoeuvre for; the Chandrayaan 2 spacecraft and was gearing up for separation of the lander from the orbiter on September 2.

The next big day is on September 7 when the descent to the lunar surface will begin. The indigenously designed spacecraft — comprising an orbiter, a lander, and a rover — is expected to touch down on the moon’s surface in the early hours of the morning of September 7.

A successful landing on the lunar surface will make India the fourth country in the world after the US ; and China to soft-land on the moon. Chandrayaan 2 will also be the first mission to land on the South Pole of the moon.

Chandrayaan will continue circling the moon in a tighter orbit until reaching a distance of about 100 kilometers from its surface.